A few tips -
The IAC bolts are REAL easy to drop upon removal and installation,. and anyone who has ever lost anything in an engine bay knows it is gone.
Plan accordingly like maybe putting a bit of electrical tape inside the socket so it hangs onto the bolts. This goes for any bolts that could possibly get lost upon removal.
If you remove anything like sensors, why not just test them and clean them up while they are out? I mean what's a few extra minutes of easy preventive maintenance?
MAF - I used carb/choke cleaner, probably better to use electrical cleaner. If you remove the MAF from the intake tube, it has those stupid special TORX bolts that need torx bits with a hole in the middle and not just the normal ones. I managed to get them out with a screwdriver, but not easily.
Suck Test - This works best if you are wearing bright red lipstick. I can lend you mine if you want. When you suck on the hose going to the EGR and then let off real quick, you will hear the thing open and close almost with a snap. At least then you know the EGR valve itself is good. Codes may indicate something else EGR related.
Vaccum hoses on the throttle body - make REAL meticulous diagrams of every hose you disconnect, once again it is REAL easy to switch them around, unlike some hoses, these CAN be interchanged easily. I did that once and had constant vacuum to the EGR, fought with that car for 3 days trying to figure out why it was idling so bad. DO NOT MIS-CONNECT THEM! The haynes manual doesn't have the zetec diagrams, and I had NO luck finding any online. Make your own diagrams. I had to make diagrams based on a zetec I saw at the junkyard.
p0171 - I do not think it is possible to even get rid of this code. this code plagues so many contour owners it is not funny. If an O2 sensor DOES go out soon after replace (should last WAY more than 7000 miles) then other problems may be causing.
Of course before assuming it is some sensor, check the basics - fuel, air, spark. sometimes a misfire might be a bad connection or corroded coil terminal.
My ex-wife's jeep was throwing a MAP and TPS code when the cat was partially plugged. All codes really means is the pcm doesn't like the readings coming back, it doesn't always mean the sensor is bad.
On a contour, the big problem is on the grill. There is this blue oval that says "Ford" in cursive, that causes problems.
The IAC bolts are REAL easy to drop upon removal and installation,. and anyone who has ever lost anything in an engine bay knows it is gone.
Plan accordingly like maybe putting a bit of electrical tape inside the socket so it hangs onto the bolts. This goes for any bolts that could possibly get lost upon removal.
If you remove anything like sensors, why not just test them and clean them up while they are out? I mean what's a few extra minutes of easy preventive maintenance?
MAF - I used carb/choke cleaner, probably better to use electrical cleaner. If you remove the MAF from the intake tube, it has those stupid special TORX bolts that need torx bits with a hole in the middle and not just the normal ones. I managed to get them out with a screwdriver, but not easily.
Suck Test - This works best if you are wearing bright red lipstick. I can lend you mine if you want. When you suck on the hose going to the EGR and then let off real quick, you will hear the thing open and close almost with a snap. At least then you know the EGR valve itself is good. Codes may indicate something else EGR related.
Vaccum hoses on the throttle body - make REAL meticulous diagrams of every hose you disconnect, once again it is REAL easy to switch them around, unlike some hoses, these CAN be interchanged easily. I did that once and had constant vacuum to the EGR, fought with that car for 3 days trying to figure out why it was idling so bad. DO NOT MIS-CONNECT THEM! The haynes manual doesn't have the zetec diagrams, and I had NO luck finding any online. Make your own diagrams. I had to make diagrams based on a zetec I saw at the junkyard.
p0171 - I do not think it is possible to even get rid of this code. this code plagues so many contour owners it is not funny. If an O2 sensor DOES go out soon after replace (should last WAY more than 7000 miles) then other problems may be causing.
Of course before assuming it is some sensor, check the basics - fuel, air, spark. sometimes a misfire might be a bad connection or corroded coil terminal.
My ex-wife's jeep was throwing a MAP and TPS code when the cat was partially plugged. All codes really means is the pcm doesn't like the readings coming back, it doesn't always mean the sensor is bad.
On a contour, the big problem is on the grill. There is this blue oval that says "Ford" in cursive, that causes problems.